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2nd Battle of Avaconea
"We fought this battle 50 years ago and won it will happen again." Sondrithan admiral Sacoterum cur'Vandom The Second battle of Avaconea occurred from 2/16/96 to 4/6/96 despite near equal numbers Entente forces ultimately suffered a defeat to the Yaanari league. Overview Avaconea was the follow up to year's of fighting, as the Entente originally pushed on the offense with the Yaanari offering a little resistance, however to the Yaanari their planned worked. After baiting Entente forces they sprung their trap catching their fleets off guard. The battle was the largest battle the Galactic Entente ever participated in with over 200 ship from both sides participating. Forces Gror'cash Star hunter's became the new Yaanari fleet after previous fights with the Commonwealth decimated the malevolent star hunter's. With knowledge of past conflict's combined with a seeping resentment against the Entente for their invasion 20 years prior. The League invested huge amounts of resources and manpower to build a even grander fleet commanded by Midlosec a five star ranking admiral having fought in the great south eastern war and the Shalani-Zracon war. The Horizon Corps is the Sondrithan capital fleet having been the vanguard for the Sondrithan's in conflict's against the Thandrakos, and the Yaanari. The Horizon Corps is made up of experienced captain's and sailors, however combined with exhaustion, stretched out supply lines plus being out numbered, and classed by their Yannari counterparts. Despite this the horizon corps composition and crews still pose a serious threat towards it foes. Commanded by one star admiral Sacoterum cur'Vandom a new commander from Sondrithan naval school still fresh in naval space combat. The Entente was also assisted by the Shalani Collation's 2nd Task force, and the Shalani Interstellar Commonality's Xa' artish star hunters. Battle First shots Acting as a screen before the main fleet, Shalani corvettes were the first to clash with the Yaanari's own light ships. Made of experienced raiders and known corsairs, the Yaanari ships mostly employed hit-and-run tactics, more to test the enemy force than cause any serious damage to the incoming Entente fleet. Ordered to push forwards and capture the attention of their foe, the Shalani ships eagerly fired their guns whenever their goes came within range of their batteries. To show the fleet's commitment to the fight, admiral Sacoterum also sent a couple of destroyers (the "Starlance" and the "Voidfish"), to force the Yaanari to either fall back or send more of their heavy ships to the fight. Cautious after dozens of battles against the Galactic Entente, Admiral Midiosec kept the core of the Yaanari fleet in reserve while his corvettes exchanged fire and fed him reports of the enemy's strength and intentions. Seeing that, unlike other times, the Entente forces did not outnumber his own armada, the Yaanari admiral ordered all vessels to attack. Even if Entente reinforcements were incoming, he reasoned a swift, brutal attack would be enough to cripple the main fleet before any other Entente ships could arrive. Seeing how the Yaanari fleet rushed towards him, the Entente Admiral ordered all ships to get ready. From the start, the presence of the Entente fleet had the objective of distracting the Yaanari armada. Without any armies behind them ready to assault and conquer league planets, the Entente fleet just needed to trade a few blows and keep the Yaanari busy while the nations of the alliance prepared a proper counter-attack. The Fleets clash Even then, most Entente officers were surprised by the speed and sheer ferocity of the Yaanari attack. Firing their last volleys, corvettes flew away just in time for a wedge of heavy ships to rush forth, their long-range weapons focused mostly on any support ships within range. Faced by such a barrage of missiles, ships like the "Dauntless" and the "Palatine" were blown to pieces before their crews had the chance to evacuate. Cruisers which tried to protect them suffered greatly too, their shields lasting for only a few minutes before well-aimed missiles pierced the hulls to explode inside their decks, slaying dozens of crews in the blink of an eye. Despite the ferocity, the Entente managed for the most part to keep formation and fire volley after disciplined volley against the tip of the Yaanari's spear formation. The Yaanari battlecruiser "Widow's Shriek" exploded after a few, well-aimed laser shots pierced through its hull into the core of the ship. Nearby vessels quickly pulled away to not get caught in the blast and wreckage, their guns still firing back even as Entente shots continued to score kills. The Yaanari admiral was forced to evacuate to another ship as several torpedos from the side obliterated the battlecruiser's engines. Still, used to fighting independently, the Yaanari squads carried on, now moving in sections which struck everywhere at once. Against the ropes Quite different to "normal" void fights between fleets, the constant attacks from every direction slowly obliterated the cohesion in the Entente fleet. After a while, small squadrons of the alliance's ships were surrounded and annihilated before the rest of the fleet could bring any support. Realizing his fleet could not match the strength of the Yaanari's own armada, the Entente admiral sent forth his reserves as a shield to push the Yaanari back so the rest of the fleet could fall back and leave the system. This shield however, was only large enough to meet the enemy vessels at the front. Coming from all other angles, squadrons of Yaanari vessels eagerly hunted down the retreating Entente vessels. While this happened, the sudden Entente offensive managed to push back the Yaanari fleet, yet it did so far to much. Allowing his foes to get closer, the Yaanari admiral quickly surrounded the Entente ships and fired with all guns. Sending all energy to shields and thrusters, a few of the trapped vessels managed to pierce through the deadly circle, the rest being either destroyed or captured by the Yaanari, who eagerly took hundreds, if not thousands of crewmen as slaves. Dearly-paid as it had been however, the distraction allowed the core of the Entente fleet to finally leave the system, the Yaanari being to dispersed and busy trying to gain some loot to bother to hunt after them. Aftermath The battle would ultimately end in a Tactical Yaanari victory, though both obtained their strategic goals. During the battle its outcome and strength of the Yaanari fleet racked nerves within the Alir government. They dispatched a fleet to survey the area as they tried to assist, but they were forced to retreat. With a potential counterattack possible. The Alir sent diplomats to meet with chancellor Shu Lin to request intervention. Due to the stakes of the battle, Yaanari terror, and fear of Entente world's falling victim to Yaanari attacks, with a huge Human community's living in Entente space. The Commonwealth agreed to declare war against the Yaanari league on March 27, 2296. Category:Battles